YLE

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

YLE (Yleisradio in Finnish, Rundradion in Swedish) is Finland's National Broadcasting Company, founded in 1926. YLE is a public-broadcasting organization which shares many of its characteristics with its British counterpart, the BBC, on which it was largely modelled.

A public limited company, owned by the Finnish state (with a 99.98 % share) and funded through a television fee and private television broadcasting license fees allocated by the cabinet, YLE has a status that could be described as that of a non-departmental public body. It is governed by a parliamentary governing council. Today YLE operates five national television channels, 13 radio channels and services, and 25 regional radio stations. Finland being an officially bilingual country – around 5.5% of the population have Swedish as their mother-tongue – YLE provides radio and TV programming in Swedish through two departments: Finlands Svenska Television and Finlands Svenska Radio.

In the field of international broadcasting, one of YLE's best known services is Nuntii Latini, the news in Latin, which is broadcast worldwide as well as being made available over the internet.

YLE was one of 23 founding broadcasting organisations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950. YLE will be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland.

YLE headquarters in Pasila, Helsinki.

1 List of YLE managing directors
2 Television
3 Radio
4 Television fee
5 Controversy
6 References
7 External links
- 7.1 Audio streams
- 7.2 Video streams

[edit] List of YLE managing directors

L. M. Viherjuuri 1926 - 1927 acting
Yrjö Koskelainen 1927 - 1927 acting
A. Deinert 1927 - 1927 acting
Hjalmar Voldemar Walldén - 1927- 1945 (changed name in 1935 to J. V. (Jalmar Voldemar)
Hella Wuolijoki 1945 - 1949
Einar Sundström 1950 - 1964
Eino S. Repo 1965 - 1969
Erkki Raatikainen 1970 - 1979
Sakari Kiuru 1980 - 1989
Reino Paasilinna 1990 - 1994
Arne Wessberg 1994 - 2005
Mikael Jungner 2005 -

[edit] Television

YLE 1: The news, current affairs and factual journalism channel, documentaries, drama, cultural and educational programmes. Satirical entertainment, quality cinema and shows of British production.
YLE 2: The main channel for children's, teenagers' and sports programmes, also drama, entertainment and factual programmes. Emphasis in current affairs output is on domestic items, regional content and citizens' journalism.

Digital Channels

YLE24: The digital channel for news, current affairs and events. 24-hour news output also to e.g. internet and mobile receivers.
YLE Teema: The digital channel for culture, education and science. Recordings of performing arts, classical music, art and history documentaries, films and theme broadcasts.
YLE FST (FST5): The digital Swedish-language full service channel broadcasting news, factual and children's programmes and entertainment. Nordic films and series. Many programmes carry Finnish subtitles.

International Channels

TV Finland: Digital satellite channel showing a selection of YLE and MTV3 progammes.

Other

Teletext (Teksti-tv): News, sport and programme information round the clock on both analogue and digital television. Theme pages on e.g. the weather, traffic, work and leisure.

[edit] Radio

YLE Radio 1: A radio channel for culture, in-depth current affairs and talk programmes. Classical music (concerts by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra), jazz, folk, world music and religious music.
YLEX: A fast-tempoed programme-flow channel featuring new music and in tune with popular culture, targeted at 17 to 27-year-olds. Percentage of music is 70%. New domestic and foreign pop and rock and several special music programmes.
YLE Radio Suomi: The national and regional news, service and contact channel, also sport and entertainment. Musical fare comprising domestic and foreign hits, adult and nostalgic pop.
YLE Radio Extrem (RADIO X3M): A Swedish-language channel for current affairs debate and popular culture broadcasting also news and sport. New pop and rock and special music programmes.
YLE Radio Vega: News, current affairs and culture in Swedish for all audience groups, also offering culture and regional programmes. Adult pop, jazz and classical music.
YLE Sámi Radio: A Sámi-language network covering most of Lapland. Co-operation with Sweden and Norway.
YLE Radio Peili: The news and current affairs channel presenting talk programmes from YLE's other radio and television channels. Classical jazz. Also broadcast on digital television and MW.

Digital services

Note: YLE will phase out DAB broadcasts by the end of 2005 but will continue to broadcast these channels through DVB.

Ylen Klassinen: The 24-hour digital supplementary service of classical music also broadcast on digital television.
YLE VegaPlus

International services

YLE Radio Finland: The external service of YLE broadcasting in Finnish, Swedish, English and Russian on SW, MW satellites and on the Internet.
YLE World and YLE Mondo: Radio Finland's digital programme services in English and other languages, mostly compiled from international radio services.
Capital FM: channel compiled from Radio World's and Mondo's programming in Greater Helsinki, and partly in Turku, Lahti and Kuopio.
Educational Channels: in Turku, Kuopio, Lahti and Mikkeli.

See also: List of Finnish television channels

[edit] Television fee

The television fee in Finland is 200.70€ per annum which pays for YLE.

[edit] Controversy

In radio, YLE was a legal monopoly until 1985, when local radio stations were permitted, and maintained a national monopoly until 1999, when national radio networks were allowed.

In the past, YLE has been seen in Finland as "red" or leftist medium. This was true especially in 1965–1969, during the term of Director-General Eino S. Repo, who got the position with the backing of the then Agrarian League (A centrist party) and President Kekkonen (also a member of the Agrarian Party), as he was Kekkonen's personal friend. He was accused of favouring student radicalism and young reporters with socially critical programs that demanded reforms, and YLE was given the nickname "Reporadio".

Repo resigned soon in 1969, but the according to YLE^[1], the "political mandate" remained, as Erkki Raatikainen was named director directly from the Social Democratic Party office.

Currently, YLE maintains that it is independent and impartial, and does not represent any current government's opinion, even if it is owned by the state.